1950s Black and White Occasional Table 'Model 87' by Isamu Noguchi

The playful Cyclone table, designed by Isamu Noguchi (1904–88), initially wasn’t a table at all. But the versatile artist, who both worked across disciplines and used widely varying materials, was likely accustomed to things not going exactly as planned. 

The insatiably curious son of a Japanese poet and an Irish-American writer, Noguchi yearned to become a sculptor from a young age. He was so moved by the abstract sculpture of Constantin Brancusi — who he assisted in Paris — that he spent several months in Beijing and Japan, studying calligraphy, brush drawing and gardens. Noguchi traveled extensively and viewed materiality, particularly clay and stone, as elemental and even sacred. He excelled in sculpture, and, as a lifelong set designer for such famous choreographers as Martha Graham — who he met while he was sculpting portrait busts — he was uniquely attuned to movement and the relationship between objects and their environment. Ever the venturesome artist, Noguchi began to explore furniture design in the 1940s.

Before it would become the Cyclone table, the sculptor’s metal wire and wood piece took the shape of a rocking stool for legendary furniture manufacturer Knoll. Hans Knoll, the company’s cofounder, was drawn to the chair's distinctive base and thought, “Why not make it a small table to complement Harry Bertoia’s wire chair for children?” Noguchi’s piece was eventually manufactured in a variety of sizes and later, in 1954, it evolved into a side table. It wasn’t until 1957 that Knoll produced it as a full-fledged dining table. 

A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchi’s sculptures and designs — his chairs and tables as well as his timeless Akari lamp and other lighting fixtures — share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.

Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture. 

Within three months, Noguchi left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.

Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: the sleek Measured Time kitchen timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937. 

Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchi’s now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.

For collectors, Noguchi’s furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work — they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.

Find vintage Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, table lamps, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.